Football is an enormously popular sport in the United States. All across the country, playing fields are frequently designed to facilitate football games. A football field has a football goalpost located at each end of the playing field. As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 13, a conventional football goalpost 10 generally has a U-shaped goal defined by a horizontal crossbar 12 and two vertical uprights 14. The goalpost 10 is usually supported by a tubular base 16, generally referred to as a gooseneck, extending up from the ground. FIGS. 1-10 and 11(a)-11(c) illustrate one embodiment of a plate-mounted version of a goalpost 10 in which the gooseneck 16 is secured (typically by welding) to a plate 18 that is in turn mounted on a concrete foundation 19 as shown in the corresponding Figures. FIGS. 12-15, 16(a)-16(c), 17-21, 22(a)-22(b), 23, and 24(a)-24(b) illustrate an embodiment of another version of a conventional football goalpost 10 in which the gooseneck 16 is mounted within a ground sleeve 15 secured within and partially buried in the ground as shown in the corresponding Figures. FIGS. 1 and 12 include a part list and corresponding reference numbers for each part. These reference numbers are provided for convenience only and are associated only with the corresponding FIG. 1 or 12, respectively, and are not used in any other the Figures or in the specification of this application.
As illustrated in FIG. 1(b), the gooseneck 16 typically is curved such that the crossbar 12 and two vertical uprights 14 are positioned approximately 8 to 9 feet from the central vertical axis 11 of the gooseneck adjacent the ground. In many instances, however, this configuration of the gooseneck 16 (and the football goalpost 10 itself, including, the crossbar 12 and vertical uprights 14) obstructs the ability of athletic facility personnel to convert a football field into a field suitable for other sporting events or purposes. This problem is particularly apparent when personnel must convert a football field into a soccer field. Because a soccer field is substantially the same size as a football field, the football goalposts 10 (which have no use in a soccer game) tend to be a nuisance. Although football goalposts 10 may be removed from the field by removing the goosenecks 16 from the ground sleeves 15 or by disconnecting the mounting plates 18 from their concrete foundations 19, the removal process can be time-consuming and labor intensive, which can be problematic when soccer and football games may be played back-to-back. As a result, and as illustrated in FIG. 41, personnel usually position each soccer goal 30 directly under each football goalpost 10. Positioned as such, the upper crossbar 32 of the soccer goal 30 is usually located only slightly below, e.g., approximately twenty-four inches or so below, the crossbar 12 of the football goalpost 10. This configuration has many drawbacks. For example, this configuration may make it difficult for soccer referees to distinguish between a soccer ball striking the crossbar 12 of the football goalpost 10 (out of bounds) and striking the upper crossbar 32 of the soccer goal 30 (in play).
Accordingly, there is a need to provide a football goalpost that enables facility personnel to quickly and easily move or otherwise reconfigure the goalpost such that the crossbar 12 of the football goalpost 10 is not positioned above or otherwise in the way of the soccer goal 30, including, without limitation, the upper crossbar 32 of a soccer goal.